A Chinese team has demonstrated a swarm of 116 underwater drones operating in coordinated formation, highlighting rapid advances in autonomous robotics and underwater navigation.

The vehicles were deployed in sequence and completed formation navigation without direct human intervention, according to reporting by South China Morning Post.

Why underwater swarms matter

Swarm robotics can allow multiple small vehicles to cooperate on tasks such as environmental monitoring, mapping, inspection and search operations. Coordinating large numbers of machines underwater is technically difficult because GPS signals do not work normally below the surface.

The demonstration adds to China’s broader investment in robotics, autonomous systems and AI-enabled industrial technology.

Source: South China Morning Post. Published September 30, 2026.

Imran Siddiqui

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